Arizona clinches Pac-12 regular-season title in win over Stanford

TUCSON, Ariz. — Aaron Gordon, almost certainly playing his final home game of a one-and-done freshman season, scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds to help No. 3 Arizona clinch the Pac-12 regular-season title with a 79-66 victory over Stanford on Sunday night.

The Wildcats (27-2, 14-2), who won by just three at Stanford a month ago, completed an unbeaten home season in what also could have been the final McKale Center game for two other players: junior Nick Johnson and freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

T.J. McConnell scored 14 points, Gabe York 12, Johnson 11 and Kaleb Tarczewski 10 for Arizona.

Josh Huestis matched his career high with 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Stanford (18-10, 9-7).

Anthony Brown added 14 points and Chasson Randle and Dwight Powell had 12 apiece for the Cardinal, who trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half and 25 in the second.

The Wildcats scored the first four points of the game and never trailed.

After consecutive dunks by Gordon, Hollis-Jefferson made one of two free throws to make it 13-4. Powell’s inside basket sliced the lead to 14-11, but Stanford never got that close again.

Elliott Pitts’ 3-pointer started a 9-2 spurt that put Arizona ahead 23-13 when Johnson scored on a drive. Randle scored on a runner to cut it to 23-17, but Johnson sank a 3-pointer, then blocked Randle’s shot at the other end. That led to Gordon’s fast-break basket on a pass from Hollis-Jefferson, and it was 28-17.

McConnell’s 14-footer in the lane followed by a pair of free throws from Matt Korcheck gave Arizona its biggest lead of the half, 41-23, with 1:27 to go.

Randle scored the final five points of the half on a 16-footer and a 3-pointer from the corner, cutting it to 41-28 at the break.

Brown’s basket reduced the margin to 43-32 with 18:06 left but he missed the free throw for what would have been a three-point play.

Tarczewski’s three-point play, on Stefan Nastic’s fourth foul, put Arizona up 48-32 with 17:14 left. Nastic fouled out with 8:47 to go.

York’s three 3s in a 2-minute span helped Arizona take its biggest lead, 68-43, on Hollis-Jefferson’s basket 10:08 from the finish.

The Cardinal made it respectable with a 19-5 run that cut it to 73-62 on Huestis’ stuff with 2:45 left.